Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Alabama High Growth Tour Luncheon
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Thursday, May 5, 2005

Thank you, Dr. Alford [Dr. Tim Alford, Director, Alabama Office of Workforce Development]. And thank you, Dr. Rogers [Rick Rogers, President, Shelton State Community College], for that lovely invocation and Ms. Ray [Sandra Ray, Presiding Officer, Alabama State board of Education], for welcoming us today.

I also want to recognize Mayor Fretwell [Harvey Fretwell, Mayor of Northport].

And I want to commend Senator Sessions—and Governor Riley who will join us later—for their leadership in working with us to strengthen government-funded training programs, so we can help more workers.

I've just come from a tour of the [Shelton State Community] college's electronics and robotics lab.

This lab is a great example of what's happening in community colleges all around the country. They're taking a look at the new jobs being created in their community and designing programs to help workers access these opportunities.

That's so important. Right here in Alabama, more than 32,000 jobs were created in the last 12 months. 1,800 new jobs were created just in March. And the March unemployment rate in Alabama was 4.7 percent, which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.

But employers tell us that they can't find enough workers with the skills needed for the high paying jobs being created. The skills gap is a real challenge that our nation must face, if we want to remain a global leader. That's why new training programs such as the one we saw today are so important.

For today's young people, a high school education is only the beginning. Most of the new jobs being created require some kind of post-secondary education. It doesn't have to be a 4-year degree. It can be advanced training conducted by an employer. Or certificate programs like the ones offered by this college. But in today's rapidly changing economy, it is critical for workers to get advanced training and to continually update their skills.

That's especially important in Alabama where one of the high-growth industries is aerospace and aviation. These rapidly evolving, high-tech industries offer good paying jobs but require specialized training. Community colleges are a critical component of filling that need.

To help workers acquire the skills in demand now, President Bush launched the High Growth Jobs Training Initiative. It supports partnerships between community and technical colleges like this one, employers in rapidly growing industries and local workforce investment boards. The goal is to ensure that the education and training community develops the curricula necessary to teach the skills identified by employers in their communities.

Some of the industries that the U.S. Department of Labor has identified as high-growth sectors include health care, biotechnology, aerospace, education, financial services, high-tech manufacturing, retail services, skilled trades and geospatial technology. The Labor Department has already awarded more than $165 million to 89 partnerships dedicated to training workers for these industries across the country.

The President has also launched a special grant program to expand the capacity of community colleges to meet these training needs. As you can see, President Bush and I are committed to ensuring that job training is linked to the high-growth fields where there is a demand for workers now.

Workers can access these and other opportunities through their local One-Stop Career Centers [called Career Centers]. There, they will find caring, helpful staff that can give them information on new job opportunities and help them access career training programs. Workers in Alabama can find the nearest center at this Web site address: www.dol.gov—or by calling 1-877-USA-JOBS.

I'm looking forward to formally opening Tuscaloosa 's new Career Center a little bit later this afternoon with Senator Sessions and Governor Riley.

Thank you for inviting me here today. And thank you for everything you are doing to nurture our nation's most important resource: our workers.

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